Author: Staff Writer

Thousands of Grade 12 pupils in the Eastern Cape will now have an opportunity to catch up on their school curriculum by using online learning platforms. Schools have been closed since the lockdown was imposed on 26 March and there is no indication yet when they will open. To help solve the problem of missed lessons, MTN Business has provided the provincial Department of Basic Education with 72 000 SIM cards preloaded with data. This move is part of MTN’s multi-pronged intervention that seeks to mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on communities it operates in, particularly those…

Police have arrested a 22-year-old suspect for selling fraudulent permits to informal business owners. It is alleged that the suspect from Olivenhoutbosch, Centurion in Pretoria, was selling permits to business owners who are not part of essential services. The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation office was alerted. The team made contact with the suspect under the pretext of wanting to buy the permits. “The suspect met with a team member and was immediately placed under arrest after he produced a permit for a R300 payment,” Police said in a statement. The team proceeded to his house where they seized a laptop…

The Surgeon General of the South African National Defence Force says the SANDF has recorded its first four positive cases of the COVID-19. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Surgeon General said three of the cases were in the Western Cape, while the fourth was recorded in Gauteng. “None of these members are uniformed members nor members deployed in support of the SAPS. It is imperative to note that the military community is bigger than the South African National Defence Force (SANDF),” read the statement. The military community is inclusive of dependants of the serving, retired soldiers and others…

The Google News Initiative has launched a Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to deliver urgent aid to thousands of small, medium and local news publishers globally. The funding is open to news organisations producing original news for local communities during this time of crisis, and will range from the low thousands of dollars for small hyper-local newsrooms to low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms, with variations per region. Starting Tuesday 14 April, publishers everywhere can apply for funds via a simple application form. Applications will close on Wednesday April 29, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. “We’ve made this as…

Refinitiv today released the 2020 first-quarter investment banking analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, investment banking fees in Sub-Saharan Africa reached an estimated $128.2 million (R23.7 billion) during the first quarter of 2020, down 15% from last year’s strong start. Advisory fees earned from completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions generated US$33.5 million, down 38% year-on-year, while syndicated lending fees declined 47% to $35.7 million (R661 million).  Equity capital markets underwriting fees more than tripled to reach $36.7 million (R680 million), a first-quarter total only exceeded twice since our records began in 2000.  Bond underwriting fees increased 20%…

MTN announced on Wednesday the details of its R250 million relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating across 21 markets MTN Group has customised its response to recognising its responsibility to contribute both in its home market South Africa as well as in many other markets facing enormous challenges managing the pandemic. Comprising five key intervention initiatives, MTN said it has focused on employees, customers, vulnerable groups, contributions to the South African Government’s Solidarity Fund and participating in industry interventions. “We believe it is the responsibility of all organisations to assist where they can during the pandemic.  MTN…

Vodacom South Africa announced on Wednesday it has significantly accelerated investment spend in recent weeks to ensure that its network remains resilient despite increases in traffic across both its mobile and fixed networks since the start of the national emergency lockdown. The Vodafone-owned company said it expects network traffic to increase even further as customers connect for longer after it implemented price cuts of up to 40% on its 30-day data bundles and launched a range of free essential services available through its zero-rated ConnectU platform on 1 April. Over R500 million will be spent over a two-month period to…

South African government, through the National Treasury, is exploring all funding avenues to finance all COVID-19 related programmes and measures aimed at addressing the pandemic. “The funding avenues will not be limited locally, but will include exploring all global partners and international finance institutions,” Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni said. Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, the Minister said government will revise the fiscal framework to take into account the effect of COVID-19 on the fiscus. He said there are a number of elements to the fiscal response, including putting forward clear estimates of the additional health care costs that…

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 2 415, as of Tuesday, 14 March. Releasing the update of cases, the Health Department said the total number of tests conducted to date is 87 022. Gauteng has 909 cases, Western Cape 643, KwaZulu-Natal 489, Eastern Cape 174, Free State 98, Limpopo 24, Mpumalanga 22, North West 22 and Northern Cape has 16. There are 18 unallocated cases. Also read: Coronavirus: WHO Urges Caution in Easing COVID-19 Restrictions With the declaration that the novel Coronavirus is 10 times deadlier than the 2009 swine flu, the World Health Organisation (WHO)…

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s will on Friday, 17 April, respond to the Gauteng Liquor Forum that wants restrictions on the sale of alcohol eased during an extended lockdown. The forum threatened court action against the South African government. However, Ramaphosa’s lawyers have written to the form asking them to wait until the end of business on Friday, 17 April to respond to their letter. “The National Command Council, the Presidency and other relevant parties are meeting again this week, specifically to discuss the details of Government’s economic assistance programme. This includes assistance offered to small businesses such as those of your clients…